According to ChinaAid, Henan authorities have continued to tear down crosses across China.

Crosses have been taken down in Zhengzhou, Nanyang, and Yuzhou. ChinaAid reports that Christians sang hymns to encourage each other as a cross was ripped down at Gospel Fellowship Tongxin Church in Anpeng, Nanyang. 

So far, in the Jinshui District of Zhengzhou, eight house churches have been shut down, but altogether locals have reported that it is difficult to estimate how many churches have been closed. 

ChinaAid reports that Christians from Zhongmo County were informed by the local government that the crosses would be taken down. Some churches intended to cover the crosses with black veils to conceal them.

According to ChinaAid, Chinese Christian Fellowship of Righteousness made a statement last Tuesday condemning the actions of the Henan authorities, voicing outrage over the treatment toward churches and the destruction of crosses. Reportedly, in the statement, the group states that persecution against religious people, principally Christians, has escalated since February when a policy change was made in China. 

The statement tells of extreme oppression in the largely Christian province of Henan. Authorities in Henan have taken measures to restrict pastors and have reportedly forced churches to fly China’s flag and display a portrait of the president, violating the…

According to USA Today, Jerry Falwell, Jr., the president of Liberty University, told them during a phone interview on Friday that the University is possibly reconsidering its relationship with Nike. 

On Friday we reported that College of the Ozarks terminated their partnership with the massive athletics brand after Nike released the “Just Do it” slogan’s 30^th anniversary ad campaign. The campaign features free agent NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick who is known for starting the NFL kneeling demonstrations during the national anthem.

Now, Nike is at risk of losing its partnership with the largest Christian university in the United States, Liberty University. 

Though Liberty University signed a contract with Nike through 2024 last year, the university openly values and supports law enforcement and military which is contradictory to Kaepernick’s beliefs. 

Falwell told the outlet, “We’re exploring the situation. If Nike really does believe that law enforcement in this country is unfair and biased, I think we will look around.”

The university president continued, “If we have a contract, we’ll honor it, but we strongly support law enforcement and strongly support our military and veterans who died to protect our freedoms and if the company really believes what Colin Kaepernick believes, it’s going to be hard for us to keep doing business…

Archaeologists exploring a lake in Turkey have discovered a 1,700-year-old Christian church that may have been the location of the landmark Council of Nicaea, which was held in 325 B.C. and affirmed the deity of Christ.

Mustafa Şahin, head of archaeology at Bursa Uludağ University, told Live Science that the church was found using aerial photographs. The church is buried underneath Lake Iznik near the town of Iznik, which formerly was known as Nicaea.

“When I first saw the images of the lake, I was quite surprised to see a church structure that clearly,” Şahin told Live Science. “I was doing field surveys in Iznik [since 2006], and I hadn’t discovered such a magnificent structure like that.”

An earthquake in A.D. 740 destroyed the church, which now rests about 10 feet under the water and 160 feet from the shore, according to Live Science.

Divers discovered graves in the church housing coins dating to the reigns of Roman emperors Valens (who ruled 364-378) and Valentinian II (375 to 392), Live Science reported. 

The Daily Mail quoted Sahin as saying the church could have been the site of the Council of Nicaea, which squashed a heresy known as Arianism and affirmed that Jesus was not a created being. The church may have been built on top of a pagan temple.  

Sahin wants the church to be protected by the government as an…

A small church posting a Bible verse on an outdoor sign led to a debate on social media – and even media coverage from a local television station. 

Bethlehem Church in Yorktown, Va., posted, “Wives submit to your husbands as to the Lord” on its outdoor sign, quoting Ephesians 5:22. The sign also mentioned service times and the church phone number. 

WTVR, the CBS affiliate in Richmond, Va., covered the sign in its newscast, calling it controversial.

“I’m very bothered that it is on a main road where anyone can see it,” resident Heather Gauthier told the station.

Said another person, Nan Harrington, “It makes me sad that it repels people because God’s Word is not meant to repel.”

Readers on the TV station’s Facebook page launched into a debate over Scripture. 

Nancy Thompson exclaimed, “Husbands, when you have your role figured out: ‘Love your wife as Christ loved the church’ (He spent His life serving the church and ultimately died for her), be gentle with us as the (physically) weaker sex, provider, protector, spiritual head of the household and having the primary responsibility for raising the children, I’ll be happy to discuss the role of the Christian wife. It’s a 2 part relationship, one won’t work without the other.”

Rose Swage wrote, “God’s Word IS His Word … instead of getting upset, read His Words, Study His Words…

KIGALI, Rwanda (RNS) – Grace Umutesi has secretly been conducting services in her house in the Bannyahe slum on the outskirts of the capital since officials shut down her church in July for failing to comply with building safety standards and other regulations.

“I’m very disappointed by the decision of the government to close our church,” said Umutesi, 35, a mother of four. “But we cannot stop to pray and praise God because our church has been closed. God is everywhere and he listens to our prayers.”

Umutesi, an elder at Joy Temple Ministries, said her church was closed because the pastor had no theological degree from an accredited institute as the government requires. She also said her church lacked proper toilets and bathrooms for guests and congregants — and can’t afford to comply with government regulations.

“It’s expensive for the church and it’s wrong for the government to tell us not to worship,” she said.

Joy Temple Ministries is one among thousands that authorities have shut down in recent months. An estimated 8,000 churches and 100 mosques have been closed across this East Africa nation of 12 million people, according to the government’s latest figures. Muslims comprise around 5 percent of the Rwandan population.

At the beginning of this year, Rwandan lawmakers enacted new laws requiring pastors to be educated and church buildings to be renovated, offer two bathrooms for men and women and provide paved access to churches on a half hectare of land or more.

Critics of President Paul Kagame said the crackdown is an…

Grammy-winning gospel singer Marvin Winans and the Perfecting Church in Detroit, Michigan, are facing a lawsuit from a former housekeeper who claims she was fired for refusing to pay tithes from her $18,000 a year salary.

Winans wasn’t immediately available for comment when contacted by The Christian Post Friday but the lawsuit cited by the Detroit Free Press names the housekeeper as Lakaiya Harris.

Harris was employed by Perfecting Church from March 2012 until January 2017. Winans is the founder and president of Perfecting Church, which owns at least 90 commercial and residential properties in Detroit. Harris was among about 40 workers hired to clean and maintain them.

She alleges in the lawsuit that she spent the first several weeks on the job cleaning the Marvin L. Winans Academy of Performing Arts, an elementary and middle school led by Winans. She was later transferred to Perfecting Church’s main campus in Detroit’s east side.

During a staff meeting in 2016, Harris, according to the Free Press, complained openly about not being paid. In October that year, Winans allegedly called Harris to his office to find out why she had not been attending church. She…

On Thursday, columnist Matthew Schmitz tweeted a letter written by the CEO of Legatus, an organization of Catholic businessmen and women, which stated that they will be delaying their annual tithe of almost $1 million to the Vatican. 

Legatus, a large association of Catholic businessmen, announces that it is placing its annual tithe to the Vatican in escrow pic.twitter.com/OQuFgGnfLa

— Matthew Schmitz (@matthewschmitz) September 6, 2018

Chairman and CEO of Legatus Thomas S. Monaghan – also the Co-founder of Domino’s Pizza – wrote a letter to fellow members of the organization saying, “regarding our (Legatus’) annual tithe to the Holy See… we believe it appropriate to respectfully request clarification regarding the specific use of these funds.”

Monaghan notes what has caused the organizations concerns saying, “Events over the past few weeks have prompted many members to contact the national office and members of the Board of Governors regarding the current crisis in the Church.” 

The CEO is referring to the Catholic church sexual abuse scandal that broke last month after the release of a Pennsylvania grand jury report which documents the results of a two-year long investigation into several Penn. dioceses. 

Monaghan writes, “We are certainly blessed with the leadership of Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, president of the…